Late Stages Of Omnichannelism

Retail Dive really derives pleasure/clicks out of bankruptcies.

Over 45,000 retail stores may close in the next five years?

There have been many stages of omnichannel theory.

• 2000 - 2005:  You had to send catalogs to grow your e-commerce business and drive customers to the store.
• 2005 - 2010:  You had to align every product and promotion and price across all channels, no exceptions.
• 2010 - 2015:  40% of catalog circulation disappeared because, it turns out, older technology bolted on to newer technology does not protect older technology ... while at the same time the experts promoted that the way you compete with Amazon is to bolt your stores on to e-commerce and use digital to drive customers into stores.
• 2015 - 2020:  Stores begin closing.
• 2020 - 2025:  Stores keep on closing ... catalog marketing is eaten alive by cost increases passed on by the paper / printing / postage industry after a nasty combination of consolidation and increased demand due to customers shopping at home during COVID.
• 2025 - 2030:  45,000 stores close, turned into indoor pickleball courts and server farms designed to mine bitcoin.

We're in the late stages of omnichannelism. Oh, retail will be fine once all that mall and strip mall square footage is converted into warehouses, pickleball courts, and server farms. There will be innovation. But the concept of bolting old technology on to new technology to protect old technology ... that concept will find a new host to attach to.

Meanwhile - how are you looking at what you sell (instead of looking at how you sell it)?